Frostbound
Chapter 320 - Glacial Formation

~~

Runes and Spells are sometimes thought to be the same thing in different forms, and that assumption is widely held in the Universe. Even if it is wrong.

Spells are an expression of mana. A spell circle or matrix is an inherently magical language, created to connect with and influence mana and only mana.

Runes are far more than merely magical. They are the truest expressions of power. They connect with the world, not just magic, and use that connection to influence reality.

If a comparison had to be made, they are far closer to Laws than they are spells.

True Runes are the language of the Universe. Meanings made into structure that are baked into the very fabric of reality. A Strength Rune carries the very meaning of Strength in all its forms. No error in translation can be made.

Sadly, they are also much harder to learn than spells. True Runes, otherwise known as Primordial Runes, are impossible to learn by mere mortals. It takes an immense mind, in both strength and caliber, to comprehend them and that is reserved only for godhood. The higher echelons of it at that.

Over the eons, Runes have been simplified. Muddled and made easier for the mind to understand. This distillation has also weakened the true meaning of what the Rune was supposed to represent.

If the Primordial Rune for Strength is a shining star of the purist light, the Basic Rune for Strength is a hazy torchlight filled with smokey impurities puttering and about to go out. While the names of the stages of Runes have changed, the number of them has not.

For anyone who has spent any time reading or learning Runecraft, the phrase Nine Tiers will come up often. From the strongest Primordial Rune, down to the most Basic Rune, there are nine stages, or tiers.

While the Nine Tiers rule of thumb applies to most known runes, it does not apply to all. There are some Runes out there that can't be simplified that much and fall short of the nine stages that most other Runes fall into.

This is why there is no Basic Rune for any Spatial or Temporal affinity Runes. They are simply too complex to be broken down further than eight stages or if they can, no one has figured it out yet. Even then, only the most basic of concepts from that Tree of Runes can reach that low.

Based on the immense number of beings who have, and are, dedicated to the study of Runes, I posit that it's impossible rather than undiscovered, but you may form your own conclusion.

Every jump in Tier is a step closer to the ideal of what it used to be. Fewer parts were removed or simplified, leaving it to express its meaning clearer and stronger.

This also means comprehending it, and subsequently engraving it, is a layer of difficulty added. Or, in the truer sense, a layer of simplification removed.

While it is common to associate certain Tiers of Runes with certain Ranks, that systemized reduction doesn't really apply outside of the most generous sense.

Some people will simply understand certain Runes easier and faster than others. The opposite is also true, where some Runes will simply remain illusive even if the practitioner is strong enough. While commonly in line with one's Mana Affinity, it isn't always.

-Excerpt from "Runes and Their Stages" by Runecrafter Heydin Stonehand.

~~

Chris

Near the Hudson Bay

Runes were something that had fascinated me ever since I first saw them. The Wall growing from the ground inside the tutorial was my first ever experience with them and I knew right then and there, it was something I wanted to explore.

If felt like everyone had grasped their own piece of the pie that was our new reality. Gabriel saw spells and became entranced. Vincent took to forging like a fish in water. Conner and alchemy. Austin and exploring. Rachel and fire.

I picked Runes. And smashing things with a hammer, but I didn't count that.

The memory of my first successful engraving was something I held dear, even if it came at a time of... turmoil. Learning more Runes and expanding what I knew and what I could create was always something I would cherish.

That being said, while we mapped out what we were going to do with the Glacial Seed, and where we were going to put it, that didn't mean I was idle on the Formations that were going to be involved.

If we were going to nourish the treasure to the best of our abilities, that meant the Formations involved were going to have to be the best I could create. Better than the best I could create.

Tier 2 Runes.

Everything I had made or enchanted so far only used the most basic of Basic Tier 1 Runes and I didn't want to settle for the worst while I had half a library of better.

Not for something so important.

Typically, Tier 2 Runes were at a level only D-ranks could engrave, but I didn't let that deter me. Many of the new books stated that one's affinity could influence how easily or difficultly one comprehended Runes, and I was banking on my affinity for the Cold to help me out.

The Formation would use mainly Runes from the Cold Tree, which I was well versed in.

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When I first learned Tier 1 Runes, the Frost Rune had come to me the easiest. It only took a fraction of the time the Fire Rune did to learn and engrave.

I wasn't only pushing the bounds of what I could do with Runes themselves, but the entire Formation as a whole. The pathways between them, the strings and knots involved, the flow from one section to another.

I wanted to make it the best I could.

It was to the point that Gabriel couldn't even help anymore. When designing the Wards placed on the Walls, he was able to help me come up with ideas and refine my thoughts by discussing it with him.

Now I couldn't even do that. He didn't use Runes while enchanting and didn't understand much of what I was trying to do. Sure, he grasped the idea and the intended outcome, but the Runes themselves and how they related to one another was above him.

The same was true for me when I examined his work now too.

While we were both enchanters, and had started in similar places, the way we went about things had diverged. It was a bit sad that we weren't able to work together anymore, but that didn't mean we couldn't learn.

Our Professions wouldn't help us, but that didn't mean we couldn't try. We just had to go about it the old-fashioned way.

After Austin left, it felt odd to be alone. I went about clearing the area and began mapping things out with [Formations Mana Flows], but I couldn't get over how quiet it was.

When was the last time I was alone like this?

There was always someone close by inside the city and even when we went South for the test, I was surrounded by people. Not counting my daily dungeon runs, as those only last a few hours.

I think it's when I went North to forge my Mana Heart.

That trip was a year and a half ago as I'd gone the Winter before the test and it had been a year since then.

Damn, it's already been a year.

I didn't think I'd still be in E-rank a year later. I hadn't thought it would have taken me so long to finish off my Profession.

There were many reasons for that, most of them my own doing, but it still felt slow to me. Austin was already gaining levels into the D-rank, Abigail was just about to go through with her evolution when she got back, Jonathan was getting close, and so were a few other people.

Elliot almost felt bad that he was getting ahead of me and it took me talking to him before he evolved. He'd been waiting out of 'respect.' I nearly wanted to slap him upside the head when I heard that.

I didn't care if he evolved before I did. Any of the Order could for that matter.

The levels coming so slowly were for a few reasons. My two passive skills didn't help, but they honestly weren't that large of an impact. They only came into play when I was getting points into Strength and Endurance, which Runesmith didn't have a lot of.

The biggest reason why it was taking so long was because I chose for it to. I needed to take time and revisit the fundamentals before I kept rushing forward. It also took time to learn the next Tier of Runes. Time where I wasn't accumulating essence to level up.

I could have done the same thing I had before and slapped Runes on things Vincent had already made, but that was a shortcut. It wouldn't exactly lead me to a good Profession.

If I had done that, I would have been lucky to keep a Rare Profession, let alone have any chance of increasing it.

Still, while the levels did come slowly, that didn't mean I made no progress.

Status.

~~

Name: Christopher Zalenski

Race: (E) Human*

Class: (E) Hammer of the Jotnar(Legendary): Level 100 Evolution Available

Profession: (E) Runesmith(Rare): Level 97

Affinity: Arctic

Faction: Frostheim (Leader)

Title: Baron

~~

I was three levels away. I had also received my second to last Profession Skill.

So far, I had leaned quite heavily into the Rune side of Runesmithand I aimed to change that. I'd debated switching to a more Enchantment-aligned profession but decided against that. I liked the smithing aspect of it, even if I wasn't as good as Vincent. The man could already occasionally create Epic gear.

The Level 50 Skill gave me [Runesmithing]. Level 60 gave me [Beginner Runic Language]. Level 70 gave me [Rune Strings]. 80 Gave me [Runic Compression]. That skill was a bit of a letdown, but it did what it was described.

It allowed me to put more Runes on one piece of equipment. If I could normally only fit two Runes onto a Spear, the skill would allow me to shrink them down and fit a third on it. If the metal could hold it, of course.

All four skills were Rune-related in some way so far so for my fifth, I went with something purely Smithing related. It felt like cheating compared to how I used to go about it before.

Thermal Regulation(Rare):Visualize the Energy, or lack thereof, inside a piece while working on it. Both Heat and Cold energies can be seen through this lens.

From the description alone, it didn't sound all that impressive, but that didn't account for how instrumental it was. Being able to accurately see what was going on helped so much more than vague feelings.

Not that [Sense Frequency] didn't help, but that one skill could only do so much. If it were at Legendary or something, I probably wouldn't have needed another skill, but it was only at Rare. The resolution it gave back was good, and helped me, but gaining another lens to see what I was doing through finally pushed me over the edge in terms of my [Create] Skills.

Both [Create Weapon] and [Create Armor] were now at Rare.

Even without enchanting, I could create Rare equipment now. It wasn't all due to [Thermal Regulation] that I could now forge Rare gear, but it certainly helped.

While my efforts to slow down and focus on the fundamentals had slowed my level gain, it had made me a much better smith, and upgrading those skills proved it.

Being able to see was only half the picture. Knowing what I was seeing was the other. I could confidently take steps forward and I felt good about what I was forging. Instead of guessing or assuming what I was doing was right.

Celebrating the Rare Axe I made just from forging was honestly the highlight of my year. It sounded sad when put like that, but it was a huge milestone for me.

My recent study of Metals also forced another Skill to upgrade to Rare as well. [Metallurgy]. With how much information was stuffed inside what we purchased, it was bound to happen, but it still felt good.

My year of advancing didn't end there, though. There was one more skill that got a boost. My [Forging Proficiency] finally hit Journeyman.

For so long I had put those skills off to focus on something else and it felt good to finally get back to them. The next step was to push for Epic, like Vincent had, but I wasn't going to get there before maxing out.

There was a decision to be made then. One I had been arguing over in my head for a while now.

But now wasn't the time for that. I had better things to do.

The Formation I was about to lay down was going to take all my focus as it would be my first attempt at Tier 2 Runes.

I'd practiced and had a litany of half-finished works or failed engravings strewn about my forge, but this would be my first attempt to actually make something with them.

It was equally nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time.